Ultrarunning Adventures with Jen

Friday, January 1, 2016

Wow.It’s been a hell
of a year.Blogging fell by the wayside
in the midst of many fun adventure runs and a lot of races!I am healthy and happier than ever and
excited for 2016 and beyond.As I start
to write my training plan for my next race I felt it was best to do a quick
update on the year and provide you all some photos of my journey!

After the Umtead 100, I ran the ThunderRock 100 in
Tennessee.This is a new race and I have
too many thoughts about it to share in a recap – so contact me if you want
details on the race.It was full of silt
invested rivers and I got to see fireflies again (something I miss living in
the PNW) so I was happy to participate.I didn’t plan to run fast, I hadn’t gotten my racing legs back yet after
Umstead and I had fun with it for the most part.JIn the end I placed second female in just
over 24 hours.

The low-snow year made for an early start to some adventure
running in 2015.The season of fun
kicked off with a bang with a trip to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.It’s a great loop and allows you to see some
great alpine lakes (you knew that was coming) along with some decently high
peaks with great views.This was the
first adventure run I’d done with my boyfriend, Shawn, and it proved to be a
great kick off to a fantastic summer of running together.He’s a relative newbie to running but has an
amazing natural ability which often humbles me.But he challenges me as well.He is
a great addition to my life, including my running.

Adventure running continued with a trip to Bend and a tour
of Smith Rock and the Three Sisters Wilderness.Smith Rock was a hot dry day and the Three Sisters was the
opposite.The beauty of both was
unmistakable and I was completely enchanted by the Three Sisters
Wilderness.The obsidian fields were
magnificent and unlike anything I’ve seen.St. Helens has a similar landscape at times but the shine of the
obsidian was really cool!

For several years I’ve been looking forward to running
around Mt. Rainier.The Wonderland trail
is a 93 mile trail of technical and beautiful trail with stunning vistas.This summer the run finally fit into my
schedule and I was thrilled to tackle this awesome run in 2 days with Shawn and
my good friend Nick.Typically the
weather in Washington is dry and sunny after July 4th and the
low-snow year let us access the Wonderland trail earlier than usual.We planned to run in mid-July.And wouldn’t you know it – we got the one
weekend in July where it was rainy and cold!We ran for 2 days, sleeping only a few hours – and saw a shadow of the
glorious mountain exactly once!It was
still a great time with great people – but the views left a little to be
desired.J

This fall I was planning to run the Plain 100.This plan later got thwarted by forest fire,
but that’s getting ahead of myself.The
Plain 100 is mostly a self-supported 100 – with one aid station at mile
62.You carry your own gear and water
and the course is not marked.The course
is difficult and knowing your way and water sources is essential for a
successful race.Shawn and I went up to
preview the course a few weeks before Fat Dog.The course is amazingly beautiful and I completely fell in love with the
area.As a foreshadowing, one of the
most beautiful sections of the course passes through a forest fire area.The race was cancelled this year because of
forest fire and the national forest being closed.I’m looking forward to seeing whether any of
the course burned this summer.

In 2014 I enjoyed running the Fat Dog 120 in British Columbia.I won a free entry into this year’s race and
was excited to return.This year mother
nature threw her best at me and although she won I did not give up.My
legs started out not having a good day at Fat Dog and my body shortly
followed.We started the race and the
temperatures climbed to around 80.I saw
my crew at mile 18 and I was warm and trying to get my legs in a rhythm.I declined their offer for my waterproof jacket,
instead keeping only my lightweight shell.Shortly after the 18 mile aid station the weather started getting
gnarly.I started the climb and after a
few miles it started to rain and then hail.By the top of Flat top mountain the hail was mixed with snow and strong
winds.My crew later told me that the
temperature dropped over 30 degrees in the valley in 30 minutes.Runners, including myself, were hypothermic
and borrowing any clothes or trash bags we could find to keep warm.Although I didn’t feel like running or even
moving I knew it was move or be frozen.The
race basically went downhill (figuratively speaking) from there.I battled hypothermia three times during the
race, many people quit because of the horrible weather.I had blisters on both heels that required
medical attention.It was a snowball of
issues and a battle to just keep moving most of the time.It was not the finish I’d hoped for but it
was a finish.J

The end of summer in the PNW means capitalizing on every
chance you get to adventure run.Plain
got cancelled and I jumped at the chance to head back to Rainier to try and
catch some great views.Shawn and I
started from White River Campground and headed up towards Sunrise.When Rainier came into view for the first
time I was captivated by the mountain as if it was the first time seeing it.The view was WOW!Shawn and I did the northern loop on the
trail – which runs about half on the Wonderland trail and half on a trail to
the north which loops back around to Sunrise.The day was amazing and the weather was fantastic.It’s hard to say whether I enjoyed this run
or the Plain training run more, they were both simply spectacular.Pictures don’t do this run justice, but they
will tempt you!

I decided to run the Mountain Lakes 100 because of Plain
being cancelled.My goal was to run five
100’s this year and in order to do that I needed to replace Plain.Go Beyond Racing does a great job with race
organization (I mean GREAT!) and I was eager to go see Trevor and Todd for this
race.They also organize the run around
St. Helens, the Volcanic 50k.I had high
hopes for Mountain Lakes but my legs didn’t cooperate.I think the volume of racing and long
training runs made it an uphill battle, even though the course was pretty
flat.I made the most of the day I was
given and pushed through for a 4th place finish.The overnight temperature was frigid and I
got stung by about 20 hornets on the first day... but it was still a fantastic
trip with Shawn and meeting new friends.J

Although I hadn’t planned to race after Mountain Lakes, I
couldn’t resist making my 3rd consecutive trip to Virginia in
December for the Hellgate 100k. I
absolutely love this race. It’s by far
my favorite race of the ultras I’ve run.
I think this is made so by my college coach, Gomez, who comes to the
race as my crew. He and I make this a
reunion weekend – catching up, reliving old times and sharing new music. He is great company and I cherish this race
for our time together. This year’s
Hellgate was another battle for me on the race course – mainly because of a
nasty bronchial infection I’d battled for 2 weeks and the wicked warm
temperatures on race day. Every day is
not a banner day and at least I didn’t give up.
Gomez and I had a blast and with 3 in a row now, redemption seems
inevitable!